There’s palpable anticipation among the crowd at tonight’s sold-out auditorium, a buzzing throng of fans spanning several generations. The last time Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were on UK turf was back in 2011, touring the superb “The Harrow & the Harvest” album, so it’s been a lengthy wait for their return. It’s also their only date in the north on this tour, and it’s proved to be a big draw. When they do saunter on stage, the pair are met with the kind of protracted cheering you might normally hear at the end of a show rather than the beginning, such is the reverence in which they’re held. “It’s good to see you, too”, offers a smiling Gillian, once she can be heard.
Opening with ‘I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll’, the deep synergy between the two is immediately apparent, crackling with an understated intensity. Rawlings’ first solo of the evening, wrung from his ever-present Epiphone Olympic guitar, elicits a suitably fervent response from the audience. By the second song, ‘Midnight Train’, the pair are joined by upright bass player Paul Cowert, who lends subtle accompaniment throughout much of the show. ‘Empty Trainload of Sky’ – the first from their most recent album “Woodland” – sounds even more assured live, calmly carried on a laid-back groove and soaring harmonies.
The pair’s ability to command a room and create such a rich atmosphere with little more than two acoustic guitars and occasional banjo is truly mesmerising, nowhere more evident than in the show’s quieter moments. As much fun as it is to hear Rawlings’ raucous rendition of ‘To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to be High)’, it’s the sparse, brooding quality of ‘The Way it Will Be’ that’s especially spellbinding in this first set.
Returning post-interval, they showcase more of their current album with the plaintive ‘Lawman’ – already sounding like one of those dusty folk songs that has existed forever – and the wistful melancholy of ‘What We Had’. ‘Hard Times’, intricately layered with just Welch’s solo vocals and banjo in the first verse, before being gently swelled by Rawlings’ guitar and Cowert’s bass, is simply exquisite.
‘Six White Horses’ allows Welch to show off some traditional dancing centre stage, before a rousing version of Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land is Your Land’ and the rueful blues of ‘The Way it Goes’ close the second set. They’re not getting away that easily, of course, returning amid the whoops and hollers for ‘Elvis Presley Blues’ and ‘Look at Miss Ohio’.
And that’s just the first encore. If there’s a highlight of the whole show, and it’s almost impossible to pick one, it might be ‘Revelator’ – its languid and stark beauty rendering the crowd near-silent, Rawlings deftly weaving strains of ‘Purple Rain’ into his extended guitar coda. The pair depart with gospel staple ‘I’ll Fly Away’, the audience now in full voice, and a seemingly impromptu cover of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’. A triumphant return and strong contender for best gig of 2025.
Huge thanks to Mike Ainsley/At The Barrier for the pics.
